A whole new way to lighten age spots.

[Guest guest]

A Whole New Way to Lighten Age Spots Courtesy: Daily Health News. Many people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis have enjoyed relief from joint pain by taking glucosamine supplements. Now, studies show that a topical formulation containing a form of glucosamine along with niacinamide, a B-vitamin derivative, helps correct hyperpigmentation and lightens age spots -- good news for those of us who choose not to have chemical peels or laser therapy performed to battle dark splotches of excess melanin (pigment molecules) caused by years of sun damage. OUT, OUT DARN SPOTS! I spoke with Alexa Boer Kimball, MD, MPH, assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School and lead investigator of one of the studies. Dr. Kimball was paid by Procter & Gamble (P & G) to help design a protocol to test the efficacy of the glucosamine-niacinamide combination. (P & G recently launched a new product line called Olay Definity -- products that incorporate niacinamide and N-acetyl glucosamine, a more stable form of glucosamine.) In an eight-week study of 200 women ages 40 to 60 with age spots or other pigmentation problems, Dr. Kimball found that participants who applied a topical lotion containing N-acetyl glucosamine and niacinamide both morning and evening showed signs of reduced pigmentation after about six weeks compared with a group using the same regimen without these ingredients. N-acetyl glucosamine and niacinamide work synergistically by blocking melanin production, Dr. Kimball told me. "The most common topical preparation for hyperpigmentation is hydroquinone,

made from a benzene metabolite, which is banned in some parts of the world and sometimes leads to unwanted skin color changes. The N-acetyl glucosamine and niacinamide combination does not have these problems and can be used on even easily irritated skin," said Dr. Kimball. Also on the product's plus side: A cream containing the glucosamine complex can be applied over the entire face (or other parts of the body), making it easier to use. (Hydroquinone must only be dabbed on age spots or darkened areas of the face.) The glucosamine complex's lightening properties seemed to plateau after about eight weeks of use. And if you stop using the cream, age spots may return without scrupulous sunscreen use, Dr. Kimball warned. SPOT-ON SKIN LIGHTENING So how do you know if a product has enough N-acetyl glucosamine and niacinamide to be effective? Currently, you probably won't be able

to tell by reading the label. Check to see if human studies have been done using the product, Dr. Kimball advised me. Generally, cosmetics companies will advertise good test results. Note: Olay Definity products are currently the only products with this combination, according to Dr. Kimball. And the burning question: Do glucosamine and niacinamide supplements have the same skin-lightening effect? It hasn't been formally tested, Dr. Kimball said. Scientists aren't sure how glucosamine, taken orally, is distributed in the body. If only tiny amounts end up in the skin, you may not have enough present to correct age spots caused by sun damage. While research funded by a manufacturer is generally questionable with regard to its reliability and impartiality, the use of products using topical glucosamine and niacinamide have been shown to be easy to use -- and may help improve your skin's appearance. Be well, Carole Jackson Bottom Line's Daily Health News "(Whatever situation we examine), the conclusion is in every case the same: that vaccination is a gigantic delusion; that it has never saved a single life; but that it has been the cause of so much disease, so many deaths, such a vast amount of utterly needless and altogether undeserved suffering, that it will be classed by the coming generation among the greatest errors of an ignorant and prejudiced age, and its penal enforcement the foulest blot on the generally beneficent course of legislation during our century."-----Alfred Russel Wallace [book 1898] Vaccination

A Delusion.